Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Terror struck at the heart of cricket when masked gunmen attacked the bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Eight cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, and his deputy Kumar Sangakkara, received minor injuries. The attack left five security men dead and will almost certainly lead to abandonment of the ongoing Test match.

After this whole incident, the Pakistan team was asked to stay back in their hotel which was beefed up with more security. The Lankan team has been safely taken to a secret location.

While there have been terror strikes on the peripheries of cricket, this is the first time players have been directly targeted. The Sri Lankans were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium when their bus was attacked by five armed terrorists near Liberty market. Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said 12 masked terrorists fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The gunmen shot at the wheels of the bus and also injured the driver. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed. The others players injured are Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana.

"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris."

The Sri Lankan team had stepped in to fill a gap after the Indian government had barred the Indian team from touring Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack in Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorists.